Fort Worth is playing a pivotal role this week in an international event next month in Japan. Osaka is the host city for Expo 2025. Starting April 13 through October, millions will be in Osaka to learn about breakthrough technologies, fresh ideas, and sustainable solutions from around the globe. The USA Pavilion will invite visitors to explore the theme Imagine What We Can Create Together through five immersive exhibits. Youth ambassadors will assist guests, and they’re now in Fort Worth for training before they head to Japan to represent the U.S. in the USA Pavilion. “Sister Cities won the bid to find and recruit the best and brightest 89 young men and women around the country,” said Fort Worth resident and Sister Cities International Board Chair Carlo Capua. “They are absolutely remarkable, and we’re doing all this training right here in Fort Worth, Texas.” 1,500 applied for the coveted positions. As board chair, Capua had some pull in moving the training to Fort Worth from its normal site in Washington, D.C. “Fort Worth should be proud because these students are not only representing the cities where they’re from, but they’re learning so much about Cowtown, our Stockyards, our historic, cowboy heritage, they’re gonna be able to share that with folks in Japan, the 28 million visitors that they’re expecting at the World Expo in just a few months,” Capua said. The ambassadors all got a lapel pin of Molly, a longhorn, which is the city’s official mascot. Adam Cobis-Ribeiro from Georgia said just seeing Fort Worth has been the best part of the training, so far. “This is like the Texas of Texas,” said Cobis-Ribeiro as he recalled a conversation with a fellow ambassador from the Houston area. ‘It is so interesting to be in such what you would say traditionally American or media American kind of like setting and then from there you’re going to completely different setting and that juxtaposition is honestly exciting and I feel like it it only helps us, prepare us more because we’re kind of getting this idea of like this traditional American outlook.” Cobis-Ribeiro aspires to be a diplomatic security service officer and hopes his role as a youth ambassador is a step in the right direction. “These students are amazing. They speak a combined 22 different languages. They represent 47 different states, and they will be the future foreign service officers, ambassadors, and elected officials for our country,” Capua said. The youth ambassadors, Sister Cities International trainers, and Department of State personnel arrived last Friday. They’ll return home on Wednesday before they’re eventual departure to Japan. “We’re doing Japanese cultural training and Japanese language training. We do active listening because in their role, they will be the main workers at the pavilion, the USA pavilion at the World Expo, which means they’ll be bringing folks, visitors, and they’re really being the smiling faces of our country,” Capua said. In addition to the cultural training, the youth ambassadors are also learning about problem-solving and customer service. And there’s the practical information about flights, accommodations, and transportation. “That is the entire point of America from the history we are all immigrants, and this culture is so diverse there’s absolutely no way that we can continue this wonderful country and its ideals without foreign policy without diplomacy,” said Cobis-Ribeiro. “To be a conduit of that for this generation is an immense opportunity, and it is just something that I’m so grateful for.” The Department of State Youth Ambassador, or Student Ambassador, program is a long-standing U.S. government exchange program that began in the 1950s. For decades, young Americans have served as docents or guides for USA Pavilions at International Expositions, or World’s Fairs. The opportunity to engage with millions of visitors of all ages and backgrounds throughout the six-month Expo is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Serving as the “Faces of America” is an important role at a World’s Fair, as many of the visitors may have never met face-to-face with an American before. Youth Ambassadors have embarked on internships and careers in foreign policy with various U.S. Government agencies, including the State Department, USAID, the Department of Agriculture, and others, as well as careers in international business, event management, and entrepreneurship. Youth Ambassadors are considered U.S. government exchange alumni and become part of a 1 million+ community of exchange alumni with opportunities for continued grants and other programs. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. ...read more read less